Runaway With Me
by TheCandyCravingDemon
Summary: The stress, the expectations, the solitude, are all becoming all too much for Adrien to bear. He's fed up with his father's pointless excuses, so he's leaving. Running away to be more exact. He's just a stray cat, it's not like anyone would care. {Adrienette/Ladynoir}


The rain pounded heavy against the roof tiling, making it sound like a thousand tiny bullets pounding against the fortress of a mansion. Adrien sat at his desk thrumming his fingers impatiently, caught deep in thought. He'd been thinking about it for a while now. _Running away_. But there was something about those two words that made his stomach lurch and sent shivers up his spine.

There were too many things that everyone expected of him, too much stress that came with those expectations, and he was sick of it. And tired of his father's blatant lies and excuses. ' _I'll be home next week_ ', but next week never seemed to come. His excuses were always the same. ' _Oh_ _sorry son, my models need_ _me_ ' or _'There's a conference so I won't be able to come_ _home_ ' and sometimes he'd even flat out tell Adrien that he were having such a good time being away from home was the reason. Yet, he expected Adrien to keep his grades up, excel at piano and Chinese, be the best fencer at his practice, and attend every photoshoot regardless the reason with a smile, and even eat the disgusting food that was part of his 'model' diet.

Adrien let out a deep sigh and ran his hands through his hair. He wanted to talk to somebody about this, but he didn't have anyone he was comfortable enough with to talk about it. Nino would probably talk him out of it and make him feel guilty about thinking about running away in the first place. Chloe would end up running away with him, only to blab about it and post it all over her social media accounts, getting both of them caught. Maybe Marinette? No. Adrien shook his head furiously. She would listen, but she wouldn't understand how he felt. Ladybug! That's who he wanted to talk to...but there was an issue, he still didn't know her true identity.

Disappointed in himself, Adrien let out another pensive sigh, burying his head in his knees. Why hadn't he opened that door after she'd detransformed? If only he'd flung it open, he were furious, there had only been a door between him and the identity of the girl he had fallen so hard for.

"Come on, cheer up Adrien. Eat a piece of cheese, it'll make you feel better~" Plagg chimed, hovering above his partner's head, holding out a slice of cheese.

"I don't want it." Adrien mumbled hoarsely.

Plagg shrugged and swallowed the slice of cheese whole. "Suit yourself, your loss."

Suddenly Adrien sat straight up, an idea intruding his sulk-fest. "I could just stay transformed as Chat Noir the whole time. No one will recognize me, and I won't have to worry about Father finding me." Adrien thought aloud, smirking at his perfect plan.

"Wait, Adrien what're you thinking about do-iiinng!" Plagg started before he were sucked into the ring on Adrien's finger.

"Plag, Claws Out!" Adrien yelled, seconds later transforming into Chat Noir. He then threw open a window and climbed onto the roof, sliding down, then using his staff to pole vault over the main gate. He could feel the rain soaking through his skin tight uniform, and he could feel strands of his hair starting to stick to his forehead, but he didn't care. He felt free, like a load of stress had been relieved and removed from his shoulders. Why couldn't he always be Chat? Everything was always more laid back when he were Chat and people even seemed more at ease talking to him when he were under the mask.

Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, Adrien suddenly slowed to a stop when he heard his name called. "Chat!" The voice called.

There he saw Ladybug, leaning against metal railing on a deck on the top of a house. He recognized the building, it was Marinette's house, it was also that bakery that made delicious pastries. Chat swooped down onto the roof, and greeted Ladybug with a gentle kiss on the hand. "My Lady."

Sighing melodramatically and rolling her eyes, she snatched her hand away, pulling it back at her side. "Chat what're you doing out here? Doing patrols in the rain? That's a good way to catch cold. And we can't afford to have you sick if an akuma attacks silly kitty." She said playfully, tapping her index finger on Chat's nose.

Chat's ears drooped downwards in a sharp slant. "Actually..." He started grimly, a tight line pulled across his lips. "I- I need to talk to you about something if you're not busy. It's about some issues I'm having in my personal life."

Marinette was almost devastated by this serious side of Chat. He was never serious, always cracking cat puns or doing something stupid or silly. "Um okay, but let's talk inside, Paris would really be in trouble if we both got sick." Ladybug then opened the door, holding it open, gesturing the black cat inside. "Just wait there Chat, you're soaked so I'll go get you a towel to dry off with."

Adrien recognized the pink wallpaper, the baby pink furniture, the light wooden planks. This was Marinette's room. He'd remembered it from when they'd practiced together for the mecha gaming competition. Except this time the walls weren't as empty as he'd remembered. Now they were littered with posters and pictures of him without the mask.

Water dripping from his suit onto the floor, he stood frozen, blush on his face from embarrassment, staring at the fake facades that he'd put up that were staring back at him. Some smiling, some laughing, some smirking seductively, all of the expressions far-fetched from his home life. Had he really grown that far apart from his emotions? _Wait! This is Marinette's room...so why is Ladybug here?!,_ Adrien thought frantically, everything finally starting to come into play and sink in.

"Sorry for the wait, I had to- AUGH oh um- tho- Those posters they're um- uh!- I..." Marinette stuttered and scrambled flustered, flailing her arms about wildly, her face blood red, matching her suit.

"Adrien Agreste?" Chat said smoothly, trying to keep the tone of his voice even.

Ladybug let out a yelp of surprise, her head falling downcast in embarrassment. She let out a nervous laugh, her cheeks still passionately burning red. "Heh... Heh yeah... He's um- kind of this guy I like at school- An- And I really like his father's designs."

"So this is _your_ room?" Chat asked nosily, throwing a hand at his side, thrusting his hip out.

Marinette paused for a long time. "...No."

Adrien crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "But you did say that the posters were ones that _you_ liked, _not_ the owner of the house." He smirked. "Looks like I now know where my notorious Bugaboo lives."

Ladybug then tossed the towel at the cat, quickly changing the subject. "What'd you want to talk to me about anyway? That is the reason we came inside you know."

Adrien cleared his throat, speaking as he tried to rub down his suit. "Well, you see I'm sort of a stray cat now, literally. A few hours ago...I," Chat slowly turned his head and diverted his gaze. "I..ran away from home."

Marinette's pupils dilated and her mouth fell agape. "That- That's horrible! Chat what possessed you to do that?!"

His hands had begun trembling, possibly from the cold chills that were running up his spine or maybe from anxiety, he wasn't really sure. "Well my father neglects me and he's never home and it's been like that since my mother-" he abruptly stopped, feeling tears starting to form in his eyes, his bottom lip quivering. Biting his lip he continued. "And the house...it's sooo lonely. Father doesn't allow me to go out or invite any of my friends over saying that they're bad influences on me- which they're not. After he takes away all of my privileges, he then replaces them with hundreds of expectations he expects me to maintain and fulfill, even planning out my schedule for what I'm going to do for everyday of the year. So I've been battling stress and depression for a while now, and it's just became too much to bear, too much weight pulling down my shoulders, and I've contemplated it a lot recently, and today I finally made mind up to do it. So I..." His cat ears fell downwards, the solemn expression on his face growing deeper. "So I ran away."

Marinette felt horrible inside, guilt gnawing away at her heart, how had she not noticed that something had been going on with Chat's personal life, she'd seen him everyday for crying out loud. Had there been subtle signs and hints that he'd been depressed? Had she just missed and ignored all the signs? He hadn't seemed depressed as far as she remembered, in fact just yesterday the black cat had been cracking jokes and laughing, flirting with her shamelessly, acting as cheerful and playful as always. "Chat... I- I'm sorry, I didn't realize that something was wrong. If I'd of realized sooner then I could've-"

"No." Adrien stopped her, and rested a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault, so you shouldn't feel guilty in any way. I just needed to get that off my conscience, just to tell somebody that was willing to listen."

"Chat-"

Adrien gave her a sheepish gentle grin, turning back towards the spiral staircase that lead to the roof. "I should be going, I'm sure you probably don't want a meddlesome feline like me around, so I'll take my leave." Chat said, slowly starting up the staircase.

"No, wait!" Ladybug yelled, almost pleadingly as she wrapped her hand around Chat's gloved wrist. "If you need a place to stay, you can stay here. My parents are out of town for the next few days, and I really don't mind as long as you keep my address a secret and don't try anything funny."

"Really?" He asked, almost doubtfully, peering over his shoulder into her bright bluebell eyes.

"Really." She said, confirming and reassuring him. "You already know my address now, so there isn't really much point in me keeping my identity a secret now." Marinette said, slowly removing her miraculous, her mask and her spotted suit fading. "I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

Adrien found it extremely hard to believe that this entire time that Ladybug had been one of his closest friends, somebody that he'd seen everyday without the mask. Inevitably, his cheeks flushed red and an added nervousness conjoined with his already trembling body. His knees felt weak and unsteady, like they could give out on him any second. And he felt like his body had become a blazing fire, yet at the same time shivers and chills ran up his body.

"Chat? You're face just got really pale, are you feeling okay?" Marinette asked concerned.

"I- I don't..." That's when he'd heard his teeth rattling as they clicked against each other. His teeth were chattering. Was he really that cold? He didn't feel cold...

Marinette must've heard his teeth chattering as well, instinctively she thrust her hand out and placed it on Chat's forehead. "Chat you're burning up! But your hands...they're so...cold." She exclaimed with concern.

"But I-"

"Take off your miraculous." Marinette said sternly, almost demanding him to do so.

"N- No." Chat stuttered, throwing his other hand overtop of his ring, guarding it. Marinette progressed forward, causing Chat to back away from her, but due to his lack of coordination, he stumbled backwards and fell to the floor.

"Come on, you need to get those wet clothes off so you don't get even more sick, and just from going out in the rain you're already running a fever. The only way to get your suit off is to remove your miraculous, and you don't have to worry, I'm not going to tell anyone your identity." Marinette implied gently.

Hesitantly, Chat removed the ring from his finger, then he began to detransform, first his ebony boots fading into his neon orange sneakers, then his skin-tight leather suit into denim jeans, his black t-shirt with orange, green, and purple stripes running across his chest, and a white unbuttoned flannel shirt. Finally, off came his mask and his wild untamed hair, seemed to fall neatly against his head, combed over gently, making his golden hair look like angelic strands from the heavens.

Once he'd detransformed, Adrien felt absolutely horrible, almost like a hurricane had ripped through him and spat him back out. As Chat Noir, he'd felt perfectly capable of doing anything, he had only felt a little weak, but as Adrien everything ached, his head felt like it were splitting open, and everything was spinning.

The minute Chat detransformed, Marinette's expression instantly fell, her cheeks instantly burning red. "A- Ad- Adrien?!" Marionette exclaimed in disbelief. "You- You're Chat Noir?! I- I- My room- I- Yo- You...A- And the- The p- pop- posters- I-"" There was no words that could describe the degree of embarrassment she were feeling. There was no way he'd like her now! Now Adrien would know what a stalker she was, and she even admitted that she had a crush on him! Marinette wanted nothing more than to just crawl in a hole and hide from the world forever, she knew she'd fucked up as soon as he removed the mask. What hurt her even more was that Adrien, Adrien had flirted with her and attempted to ask her out multiple times, and she'd bluntly turned him down and rejected his affection.

Adrien drew in a quivering breath, squeezing his eyes shut to stop the room from spinning. The atmosphere seemed to weigh heavy on his shoulders, tempting his body to collapse and fall onto the floor. "Um... Marinette... Do- Do you mind if I sit down."

"Ah- Not at all. Go right ahead."

Adrien plopped himself down and leaned his head back. He could vividly remember the last time he'd been sick, it was before his mother had went missing. He remembered her gentle humming, and her soft angelic voice singing him to sleep, her reassuring touch brushing strands of hair out of his face. She'd taken the day off of work to take care of him, which had made Adrien happy. But he had to remind himself, she was gone. It had been a full year since he'd last seen her, she'd just up and disappeared, no explanation, no traces, nothing.

"Adrien you little- I oughta punish you!" Plagg exclaimed, seemingly manifesting from thin air. "You didn't even consult me before you made the rash decision."

Marinette stood speechless staring at the little black kwami fussing away and lecturing an unresponsive Adrien. She'd only seen Tiki, and she could see the similarities, but Plagg looked and acted entirely different from her own polka dotted kwami.

"Adrien! Are you listening to me?!" Plagg exclaimed furiously.

The blonde let out a groan, pulling his arm over his face, his nose resting in the crook of his elbow. "Plagg I _did_ consult you. Multiple times. You just didn't listen."

"Plagg, the boy is ill and isn't feeling well, let him rest, and shut your big mouth for once." Tiki commanded, but her voice still gentle.

"Oh...heh heh, I didn't see you two there..." The cat kwami said with a nervous chuckle, floating around to face Marinette and Tiki. "Hiya, I'm Plagg." He said introducing himself to Marinette.

"Ladybug..." Adrien said in a low voice, "Can you come here for a second?"

"Y- Yes?!" The ravenette said flustered, quickly rushing to the blonde's side.

In the heat of the moment, his thoughts still hazy, and his perception of reality altered, Adrien grabbed the collar of Marinette's shirt and pulled her forward towards him. He then pulled her into a kiss, locking his lips against hers.

Marinette's face instantly flushed, her heart felt like thousands of tiny butterflies had been unleashed, her mind still racing as Adrien kissed her deeper. _Oh my god! Oh my god! I'm kissing Adrien! I'M KISSING ADRIEN!~,_ her mind sang.

Pulling away, Adrien stared into her bluebell eyes and with a sheepish grin he said, "I've been wanting to do that for a while now, you have no idea how many times I've fantasized about this moment."

"Me too." The ravenette said dreamily, her thoughts still caught up in the electric sensation of Adrien's soft pillowy lips against her own.

"Marinette, I love you. I've had a crush on you as Ladybug, and as yourself, so please, be my lady?"

The pig-tailed ravenette gasped in shock, _Is- Is he asking me to be his girlfriend?!_ Without hesitation, and without even thinking, Marinette instantly replied with joy, "Yes! A thousand times yes!"

Adrien grinned and wrapped Marinette in a tight embrace. "Even if I've been akumatized a thousand times over, you'll always be my lady, and I know you'll always have my back and keep me pure, thank you for everything Marinette."

"Anything for my kitty."

Adrien then abruptly pulled himself to his feet and glanced back longingly over his shoulder at his new girlfriend. "I'm sorry, I can't stay here. I need to start over, Father will find me if I stay in France. So-" His voice cracked. "So I'm taking a plane to America tomorrow morning, I'm going to start over with a new life in the states. Goodbye Ladybug, we'll meet again in another lifetime, I'm sure of it. So this goodbye is only temporary. I love you." He said on the verge of tears, he then transformed into Chat Noir, and gave one last glance over his shoulder at Marinette, before he used his staff and pole vaulted out the window.

Tears streamed down Marinette's face, her bottom lip quivering. It was breathtaking how quickly one minute something can be given to you, and then taken in an instant. Without even thinking Marinette yelled, "Spots on!" Quickly dashing out the window, chasing after the notorious black cat. "Adrien, wait!" She called out to the blonde, pleading.

Chat slowly came to a stop, the pelting rain, hiding the tears that streamed down his mask. He felt a lump form in his throat, a knot tied in his stomach. He couldn't face Ladybug like this, he were sure that she were probably furious with him. He stood waiting for her to lash out at him or pound him, but instead he felt warmth around him. He opened his eyes to see the pig-tailed ravenette sobbing into his shoulder, wrapping him in a tight embrace.

"I can't lose you," Marinette whimpered staring up into Chat's bright luminous green eyes. "After all the akumas we've destroyed, all the adventures we've had together, the affection I've grown towards you and your silly cat puns. I need you."

Adrien looked at her with sad eyes, resting his head on top of hers. "I'm sorry Bugaboo, you're _purr_ fect, I don't deserve someone as caring and kind as you, I-"

"Adrien no! Stop it! I love you, and I can't function properly without you, so I've decided, I'm going to runaway with you." Marinette stated firmly.

"What?" Adrien asked, hearing how small his own voice sounded. "Bu- But your parents?"

"I'm sure they'll understand if I explain, they have faith in me."

"Marinette, are you sure-"

"I'm positive. I won't regret my decision. Now come on kitty, we have a plane to catch." Marinette said, intertwining her fingers with Chat's, as she gave him a peck on the cheek. Wrapping his hand under Marinette's arm and around her chest, Adrien pulled them both rooftop to rooftop using his staff, pulling them closer and closer to the airport.

The rain pouring down heavy on the couple, didn't stop their progress or dampen their affection for one another, but on the contrary made them stronger. So, with a final extension of his staff, Chat brought himself and Ladybug down to ground level in front of the airport, he then scooped her up bridal style and swept her in for a kiss. Locking their lips together, the two kissed passionately in the rain, holding one another closely, with their hands intertwined, the bright lights and the Eiffel Tower towered behind them, reminding them how their love had slowly blossomed and bloomed into a beautiful rose in the heart of Paris, the city of love.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this little fic I put together (It actually took me a few months to write it because I kept getting stuck). This will probably be a one shot, I may add another chapter or two in the future, I'm not really sure yet, but no guarantees that I'll keep it a one shot ;). Anyways, I enjoyed writing this, and I would love to hear what you thought, so please review, any feedback is always appreciated.**

 **-The~Candy~Craving~Demon**


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